Harper plans to expand mission against Islamic State

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government will table a proposal next week for an “extension and expansion” of the mission in Iraq against the Islamic State, and hasn’t ruled out going into neighbouring Syria.

The federal government’s mandate for Canada’s six-month combat mission in Iraq against Islamic State militants — part of an international effort — expires April 7 and there had been expectations the government would prolong the mission until after a federal election scheduled for Oct. 19.

Several dozen special forces troops have been deployed to northern Iraq since September, while six fighter jets, two surveillance aircraft, a refuelling plane and around 600 support personnel have been based in Kuwait since October, following a House of Commons vote Oct. 7 approving the mission.

Harper said on Wednesday that his government is now prepared to officially request another mandate from Parliament for the military mission that has seen Canadian soldiers on the front lines. One soldier was killed and three others injured in a friendly-fire accident with Kurdish soldiers.

“The current mission was authorized in the fall and that authority comes due fairly shortly. Next week, it is the government’s plan to move forward with a request from Parliament for extension and expansion of the mission. And I will obviously give more details when we do that,” Harper told reporters at an event in Mississauga, Ont.

Harper did not rule out expanding the mission into Syria, where the Islamic State (ISIL) has a strong presence, saying he will provide more details next week.

“Let me just say the current authorization laid open the possibility of going to Syria, although we have not done that, but we’ll address issues like that next week when I make a proposal to the House of Commons.”

Canada sent 69 special forces commandos to northern Iraq in September to help train Kurdish forces in their fight against ISIL.

Defence Minister Jason Kenney said last week at a parliamentary committee that the government doesn’t plan to increase the number of special forces advisers in Iraq.

Both the opposition NDP and Liberals oppose Canada’s participation in the U.S.-led bombing campaign against ISIL.

The two parties have also called on the government to “come clean” on what they say is “mission creep” that has seen Canadian troops on the ground exchange fire with ISIL militants in an effort to “neutralize” the enemy.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair made it clear Wednesday his party will vote against the government’s motion. Canada should be contributing more humanitarian aid to the region, “instead of getting involved in another wrongheaded war,” he said.

“Canada was right to stay out of the war in 2003 and we in the NDP believe that it is still right for us to stay out of this misguided war,” Mulcair told reporters in Burnaby, B.C.

NDP defence critic Jack Harris said the government refuses to be transparent with Canadians on what it has planned for the Iraq mission.

The war in Iraq, while meant to combat Islamic State extremists, still has no clear objectives or realistic plan, he said, which is leading to the mission creep the NDP worried about from the beginning.

“We seem to be plunged into a war without a real end,” Harris said. “Canadians have a right to be concerned about where this government is leading them without being clear and upfront.”

Any potential coalition mission in Syria against ISIL would raise troubling questions, he said, because it would certainly help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which seems to conflict with the broader objectives of a Conservative government that has regularly assailed the Assad regime and demanded it step down.

The federal Liberals continue to oppose the combat mission in its current form, but the party says that doesn’t rule out Canada supporting, in some capacity, the international efforts against ISIL.

“ISIL poses a real and serious threat to security around the world and in Canada. Liberals believe that Canada does have a role to play in the international effort against ISIL,” Liberal defence critic Joyce Murray said in an emailed statement.

“We cannot speculate about a motion that has not been presented to Parliament. What we do know is that this prime minister has not been open and honest about what our troops are mandated to do in Iraq.”

Sgt. Andrew Doiron, 31, was killed in the friendly fire incident in northern Iraq earlier this month, and three other Canadian special forces members from Petawawa injured, after Kurdish peshmerga fighters mistook Canadian soldiers for Islamic militants, opening fire on them as they approached a checkpoint at night.

The initial House of Commons vote to approve the combat mission in Iraq passed 157 to 134 in October and the Conservatives can again use their majority to get parliamentary approval.

The federal government revealed in mid-February that the cost of Canada’s war in Iraq, to that point, was at least $122 million, not including salaries and other fixed costs. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated Canada’s six-month military mission could top $166 million.

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